The math gets more complicated in the speaker’s race

As in state Rep. Walter “Four” Price IV, now the seventh announced candidate to become speaker of the Texas House. And before next week is out, the people who get paid to pay attention to these things think Price and his announced opponents will be joined by as many as two more in what has fast become a wide open race to replace outgoing Texas House Speaker Joe Straus.

Price, R-Amarillo, filed his paperwork with the Texas Ethics Commission Thursday; he’s the fourth candidate with ties to Straus, who did not run for reelection to his House seat. Price had long been rumored to covet the job and, according to several political experts, is the candidate Straus favors to succeed him.

Even before Price’s announcement, however, conservative lightning rod Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford, posted this tweet, suggesting the number of Straus allies vying for speaker shows a coalition in disarray.